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Guest 5D writer Laurie Bachman runs the risk of alienating me by suggesting that King may have to move aside for a young gun…..
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Now, this might be heresy but I have fallen down a rabbit hole of late with books that are all things fantasy in nature; I have, as a result, felt the need to break away from epic world-building, complex magic structures and complex characters while still getting my literary fix. It was during one of these quests to lighten the mental load that I thought Horror, I wasn’t in the right space to dip into one of my many Stephen King novels – an infatuation … wait no an obsession that I had inherited from my father.
So, I took to the shelves and the ever-present BookTok in search of something light, eerie but also fulfilling my need for a strong story, and strong characters. This was where I stumbled across My Best Friends Exorcism by Grady Hendrix and I was sucked in. It had so many amazing things working for it and I could not put it down until I finished it.
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Grady Hendrix has written a lot of novels that all seem to carry the same vibe of camp horror combined with eerie chills, it is a masterpiece. It may seem unfair to compare a relatively new author with the powerhouse that is the King himself. But, as someone who has essentially devoured Stephen King before I could properly comprehend his genius, I like to think I have enough knowledge to compare the two. I, therefore, have compiled a list of the 5 best Hendrix novels so you can decide.
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My Best Friends Exorcism
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Set, in part, in 1988 with high school sophomores Abby and Gretchen. They have been best friends since fourth grade. An evening of skinny dipping goes wrong and Gretchen begins to change, her behaviours are off, and not only that weird things keep happening around her. Abby’s investigation leads her down some weird roads until there is only one question left, can their friendship survive the devil himself?
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This is tied in the top spot for favourite with Horrorstor, I so enjoyed this book. The friendship is really built upon at the start of the book which makes the cracks in the characters more apparent. The getting to know you stage between the main characters was vital in understanding the changes in them both, how far they fall and the makes the sacrifices made even more heart-wrenching. The descriptions as well as so thoughtfully put together building the sinister and violence you see in movies like Exorcism, Last Rite and Stigmata. The soundtrack to this is incredible, and you can almost smell the hairspray.
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Horrorstor
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Set in Cleveland Ohio, in the Orsk furniture store, the employees on the morning shift arrive to find broken furniture. Sales are down as a result security cameras show nothing. Three employees decide to work dusk till dawn shift to find out what’s going on, and what they discover are “horrors which defy the imagination”.
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Grady Hendrix does a thing with his books, it’s an immersive experience. The books themselves – the physicality, all tend to represent what they are trying to portray. In Horrorstor it looks like an Ikea catalogue in the chapter pages, with assembly instructions interspersed within the content. The cover is truly brilliant and this in itself was brilliant. The story again did not disappoint. The characters were well-written and well-rounded. The scenes verged on ludicrous at times, reminiscent of the feel of Texas Chainsaw Massacre in its fine line approach between terrifying and parody.
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Southern book clubs guide to slaying vampires
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Patricia Campbell is suffering from a “small life” with a workaholic husband, teenagers who have their own lives, a senile mother-in-law and an unstoppable to-do list. Book Club is her only salvation, a group of charleston women united by a love of true crime. One night after book club Patricias’s neighbour is attacked, introducing us to the nephew, James Harris. Well travelled, charming and a little delectable, Patricia catches feelings. But could James be more of a “Bundy than a Brad Pitt”? When children start to go missing on the other side of town imagination runs wild. But James is a “monster of a different kind and Patricia has already invited him in”
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This had the feel of Fright Night meets Desperate Housewives, a combination I never knew I needed in my life. I loved the character of Patricia, like Hendrix’s other female characters she was relatable, she felt like she could be anyone’s mom. The plot had twists and turns, there was action and thrills, I so enjoyed the ending it was very satisfying.
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The Final Girls Support Group
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The final girls, those precious virginal characters that are left standing as the credit roll in horror movies. Those powerhouse survivors who fought back to avenge their friends and defeat the killers only to go back and do it again, and again, and again. This book follows Lynnette Tarkington who survived a massacre 22 years ago. For more than a decade, Lynnette has gone to support meetings with others who had survived similar. One day, their peace is disturbed, one of the group is missing and they realise their secret is out. Banding together to solve the mystery the killer didn’t bank on how these girls survived the first time, they always make it through to the sequel.
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So, I am a massive horror movie fan I love the slashers from the 70s, 80s and 90s and would like to think that my knowledge of the rules would ensure I made it out at the end. This book takes those tropes and runs with them – not in a cheesy please let this be over now kind of way, or a Scary Movie kind of way, but in a homage to the majesty of the slasher era. There is modernisation in the rules and tropes which I liked but it stayed true to the spirit of those original girls the Jamie Lee Curtis’s that graced our silver screens.
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We Sold Our Souls
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The story begins with Kris sitting in her basement with dreams of being a rockstar. Her mom had signed her up for guitar lessons but the six weeks of “twinkle, twinkle little star” with the guy from dad’s plant were driving her insane. In the 90s, Kris becomes the lead singer in the heavy metal group Durt Wurk they were on the brink of success until the lead singer, Terry, decided to break off and go solo. Now, Kris works as a night manager at Best Westerns. After a violent night Kris begins to wonder if Terry sabotaged more than the band. Kris finds herself on a journey through celebrity rehabs, the Pennsylvania rust belt to a satanic music festival trying to figure out what went wrong with everyone but Terry.
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This book felt grungy to read, the antics are sometimes laugh-out-loud and sometimes horrifying. If you have seen the Ozzy Osbourne movie then you will have some of the vibes down for this novel. It was really well done, you follow Kris as she attempts to understand if Terry sold more away than just the band and what the price of fame really is. There is a strong psychological horror feel to this book, there is the claustrophobic elements.
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Is it fair then to compare to the master? The one thing I adore about Stephen King is his characters, he builds them so well to become tangible creatures we love and care about, or despise and then destroys them right before our very eyes. Grady Hendrix builds characters and plots in a very similar way but on a much smaller scale – his books usually fall around the 400-page mark. He may not be the new King yet, but I think he is definitely heading that way. Let me know if you agree.
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